Well, a long long journey later I am in Rio, tired and in dire need of a shower, but well. It is so wonderfully beautiful here! The weather is perfect, I left behind hail and snow back home, if you can believe that for the California coast (I have never in my life seen the hills near my house snow capped) to come to amazing white sand beaches and perfect 75 degree weather. This is nice.
The city is great too, I have not seen enough to give a full report, but suffice it to say that this is a beach lover´s paradise. There are more beautiful people strutting around here than I have seen in a while. I am definitely going to enjoy my three weeks and I am stoked to be seeing my best buddy here...as soon as I can find the hostel! It´s always a bit of an adventure getting your bearings in a new place, but that is part of the adventure. I have it narrowed down now and it only took an hour, which is pretty good considering I have not slept a full night in well over 24 hours and speak only a few words of Portuguese. Luckily some friendly locals have pointed me in the right direction, everyone so far has been very friendly and helpful, which is always a pleasure.
I will post pictures as soon as I take some! Love to everyone back home, I made it safe and sound.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
A new year of my life, a new adventure!
Well, I am 28 today, survived another year, and today I am also beginning a new adventure. I am off to Brazil to meet up with my best buddy to explore and to celebrate carnival, something we have always wanted to do. It should be a wonderful time and I am very excited about it.
Due to unforeseen events in my personal life, I have to cut this trip shorter than expected. I will only be gone for the month of February, so no Argentina this time around, or trekking in Tierra del Fuego which is a bummer, but is unavoidable.
So, this will be a relatively short three week adventure. Funny how experience alters your perceptions. I am bringing a little duffle bag and that's it, I barely even thought about what I would bring, in my mind I barely register a three week trip when a year ago that would have been a major expedition.
I will post regularly about my adventures with my friend, Mattis and look forward to seeing what the largest country in South America has to offer.
Due to unforeseen events in my personal life, I have to cut this trip shorter than expected. I will only be gone for the month of February, so no Argentina this time around, or trekking in Tierra del Fuego which is a bummer, but is unavoidable.
So, this will be a relatively short three week adventure. Funny how experience alters your perceptions. I am bringing a little duffle bag and that's it, I barely even thought about what I would bring, in my mind I barely register a three week trip when a year ago that would have been a major expedition.
I will post regularly about my adventures with my friend, Mattis and look forward to seeing what the largest country in South America has to offer.
Friday, January 16, 2009
There's Hope Yet!
Mr. Marolt, the gentelman who rode his bike across the United States had this to say about our country:
Hi, Reece
I read your web page containing large article about my tricycle traveling across United States. It was for me memorable adventure indeed. At the end I had to change my old opinion about Americans, which was wrong owing to television, movies, newspapers ..., always full of violence, criminal, etc. At the beginning of trip I was a little scared of new unknown country and people. Now I can say, that Americans are much more friendly as I ever could imagine.
I am continuously watching your travel progress in South America. Wow!
I hope you understand my weak english.
With best regards,
Joze Marolt
That is good news to me! And I have been to SLovenia, and can say it is also a wonderful country full of very friendly people. It is beautiful too. I look forward to returning one day in the future.
Best of luck to you in all of your future travels, Joze,
Reece
Hi, Reece
I read your web page containing large article about my tricycle traveling across United States. It was for me memorable adventure indeed. At the end I had to change my old opinion about Americans, which was wrong owing to television, movies, newspapers ..., always full of violence, criminal, etc. At the beginning of trip I was a little scared of new unknown country and people. Now I can say, that Americans are much more friendly as I ever could imagine.
I am continuously watching your travel progress in South America. Wow!
I hope you understand my weak english.
With best regards,
Joze Marolt
That is good news to me! And I have been to SLovenia, and can say it is also a wonderful country full of very friendly people. It is beautiful too. I look forward to returning one day in the future.
Best of luck to you in all of your future travels, Joze,
Reece
Friday, January 2, 2009
Update for the New Year
Well, when I said I was going to lay low on the blog for the next month, I guess I was fibbing a bit. Truth be told, writing in the blog has become habit and something that I really enjoy. So, I will continue to post on occasion between now and the time I leave.
The reason I was prompted to write though was an account of a really scary event that happened to my friend who is now traveling in Costa Rica. Mattis, my friend, was sitting in his bed in his hostel, working on his computer when he heard several loud bangs. He looked out his window and saw a female police officer in hysterics, as he put it, over the body of another police officer that had been shot in the head.
Apparently, some armed men had attempted to rob the Hostel that Mattis was staying in and when the police arrived, shot one of them several times in the chest and once in the head before running away.
It is a terrible tragedy, and I sincerely hope that the officer is OK. A lot of those guys are corrupt, but still, that does not warrant a gunshot to the face in my eyes.
Things like that make you really stake a step back and realize how fast it can all go. A lot of people would take that story and say, see, stay away from the third world! Well yes, the third world is not the safest place but things like that can happen anywhere. Violent crime is a big problem here in the states.
I just hope that my friend is not scarred by this event and that the Officer lives to fight crime another day. Mattis said the officer was still alive when the ambulance showed up, so that is good news. I also hope that the degenerates who did this receive justice. You can blame the society that they live in, the poverty that encourages crime, or what have you, but no one chooses to pull that trigger other than the man attached to the finger. That deserves retribution.
I have a lot of friends that are police officers and to think that someone like that could come to such a terrible end really angers me. But, it is out of my hands in this case.
At any rate, that is a story that I thought was relevant to the blog as I had just been there. The game plan now is to fly into Brazil on February 11th, to meet Mattis, stay through Carnival which should be a blast, and then head down into Patagonia to do some trekking.
I hope everyone had a great New Years!
The reason I was prompted to write though was an account of a really scary event that happened to my friend who is now traveling in Costa Rica. Mattis, my friend, was sitting in his bed in his hostel, working on his computer when he heard several loud bangs. He looked out his window and saw a female police officer in hysterics, as he put it, over the body of another police officer that had been shot in the head.
Apparently, some armed men had attempted to rob the Hostel that Mattis was staying in and when the police arrived, shot one of them several times in the chest and once in the head before running away.
It is a terrible tragedy, and I sincerely hope that the officer is OK. A lot of those guys are corrupt, but still, that does not warrant a gunshot to the face in my eyes.
Things like that make you really stake a step back and realize how fast it can all go. A lot of people would take that story and say, see, stay away from the third world! Well yes, the third world is not the safest place but things like that can happen anywhere. Violent crime is a big problem here in the states.
I just hope that my friend is not scarred by this event and that the Officer lives to fight crime another day. Mattis said the officer was still alive when the ambulance showed up, so that is good news. I also hope that the degenerates who did this receive justice. You can blame the society that they live in, the poverty that encourages crime, or what have you, but no one chooses to pull that trigger other than the man attached to the finger. That deserves retribution.
I have a lot of friends that are police officers and to think that someone like that could come to such a terrible end really angers me. But, it is out of my hands in this case.
At any rate, that is a story that I thought was relevant to the blog as I had just been there. The game plan now is to fly into Brazil on February 11th, to meet Mattis, stay through Carnival which should be a blast, and then head down into Patagonia to do some trekking.
I hope everyone had a great New Years!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Inspiring Story!
A gentleman I met while riding my bicycle across the USA named Joze Marlot from Slovenia just sent me a Christmas email along with some pictures from our meeting. At any rate, Joze was also riding his bicycle across the USA and he was in his seventies! How fantastic is that? He rode on a recumbant bike with a device called a Schlum that gave him something like 30 or 40 gears if I remember correctly, it was quite an engineering marvel.
So I am very happy to report that he made it all the way! Way to go Joze. That is incredibly inspiring and I would hope that if anyone is considering making the trip that this will prove that all it takes is the will to see it through.
So I am very happy to report that he made it all the way! Way to go Joze. That is incredibly inspiring and I would hope that if anyone is considering making the trip that this will prove that all it takes is the will to see it through.
A funny picture of me contemplating something or other. We crossed pathes in Florida, in the panhandle.
Mr. Marlot on his bike, crossing the USA.
Back in the US of A!
Well I made it back home and it feels great to see friends and family again. It was a bit of a marathon getting back, but I made it.
I am experiencing reverse culture shock having come from the third world where I have been for so long to California in the middle of the Christmas shopping frenzy. It is such a dramatically different set of circumstances that the average person lives in here, and I hope everyone appreicates how amazingly good they have it! Plus, its cold! Holy smokes, I went from incredible heat and humidity to dry, cold December weather. It played havock on my sinuses, but that is a minor price to pay.
I am returning to Brazil on Februrary 11th, after my birthday (turning 28, when did I start getting so close to thrity?!?!) and will be there through Carnival with my buddy, then I am heading south through Argentina to do some trekking in Patagonia, which is something I have always wanted to do.
As for my sailing down the Amazon trip, I am postponing it for now. Why, you ask? Because I bumped into a friend in Colombia, a guy I had met earlier in my travels who also enjoys adventure and risk taking, that had attempted what I was planning on doing, but with a group of locals as guides. Well, long story short, they beat him to a pulp and robbed him. On top of this, this guy was no wimp either, he was a big solid dude, with a shaved head, biker beard and tattoos all over the place. He was not the kind of person you would expect to get victimized. He and I talked for a while and I decided this is still something I want to do, but with at least one other person. It is just too great of a risk to go it alone. I think I am getting older to make that kind of deiscion, as a few years ago that would have just made the trip more appealing. I would have simply brushed up on my Ju Jitsu, got a weapon of some sort and gone for it. These days though, I prefer to take calculated risks wherein the reward is worth the potential loss, which is the same reason I did not hike the Darrien Gap.
At any rate, I hope everyone is well. All my love, I hope Christmas was wonderful and that the New Year is as well. I am going to let the blog go silent for a few weeks here, so I highly recomend that if anyone wishes to continue to follow along in Februrary that you have the automated blog updates sent to your email. To do this there is a box on the left hand side of the web page where you fill in your email address and each new blog update will be sent to you. You wont get any spam mail, so no worries about that.
So for now, I will be resting up and spending quality time with loved ones, and then it is back to South America for some more adventure!
I am experiencing reverse culture shock having come from the third world where I have been for so long to California in the middle of the Christmas shopping frenzy. It is such a dramatically different set of circumstances that the average person lives in here, and I hope everyone appreicates how amazingly good they have it! Plus, its cold! Holy smokes, I went from incredible heat and humidity to dry, cold December weather. It played havock on my sinuses, but that is a minor price to pay.
I am returning to Brazil on Februrary 11th, after my birthday (turning 28, when did I start getting so close to thrity?!?!) and will be there through Carnival with my buddy, then I am heading south through Argentina to do some trekking in Patagonia, which is something I have always wanted to do.
As for my sailing down the Amazon trip, I am postponing it for now. Why, you ask? Because I bumped into a friend in Colombia, a guy I had met earlier in my travels who also enjoys adventure and risk taking, that had attempted what I was planning on doing, but with a group of locals as guides. Well, long story short, they beat him to a pulp and robbed him. On top of this, this guy was no wimp either, he was a big solid dude, with a shaved head, biker beard and tattoos all over the place. He was not the kind of person you would expect to get victimized. He and I talked for a while and I decided this is still something I want to do, but with at least one other person. It is just too great of a risk to go it alone. I think I am getting older to make that kind of deiscion, as a few years ago that would have just made the trip more appealing. I would have simply brushed up on my Ju Jitsu, got a weapon of some sort and gone for it. These days though, I prefer to take calculated risks wherein the reward is worth the potential loss, which is the same reason I did not hike the Darrien Gap.
At any rate, I hope everyone is well. All my love, I hope Christmas was wonderful and that the New Year is as well. I am going to let the blog go silent for a few weeks here, so I highly recomend that if anyone wishes to continue to follow along in Februrary that you have the automated blog updates sent to your email. To do this there is a box on the left hand side of the web page where you fill in your email address and each new blog update will be sent to you. You wont get any spam mail, so no worries about that.
So for now, I will be resting up and spending quality time with loved ones, and then it is back to South America for some more adventure!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Lessons learned and great news for me.
Day: 282
Location: Santa Marta, Colombia
Well, I must say, this trip has been a huge learning experience for me. I look back and see that I set out to try and ride a bicycle around the world because I wanted to do something big and exciting. Something that would make me feel good about myself and that would impress people.
Well, I got sick as a result of riding my bike too much, chose to stop and continue on by backpack. At first I was terribly upset that I would have to fall short of my goal, but with some thought I came to realize that a big part of me wanted to stop because I was no longer enjoying myself as much as I had at the beginning. With time and introspection I came to realize that the reason I felt this way was because I had set out on my journey for the wrong reasons. I wanted to ride a bike around the world not because I love to travel by bicycle so much as because I wanted to do something that would impress other people, which in turn I thought would make me feel better about myself.
It was a tough lesson to learn and it forced me to eat a big slice of humble pie as I had made such a big fuss out of my attempt, but in the end it was a very good lesson. You should only do something because you love to do it. If that is your motivation, then no matter what happens, what anyone else thinks of you, if you succeed or fail, you will be happy with yourself and feel fulfilled.
So, as I have toured around Central America with my backpack, I had a chance to do a lot of things that I would not have been able to do on my bike. I saw a lot of amazing things, met some wonderful new friends, and had a chance to really get to know a portion of the world that I did not know too much about beforehand. I also had a chance to see what volunteering was all about and had a chance to give of myself to those in need. I had a lot of fun in the process and feel that I am now doing everything that I really want to do because it is what I enjoy.
I had another moment like this the other night while I was out with some new friends. A big group of us at the hostel went out to dinner and it was a typical backpacker international crowd, and we were having a very typical backpacker conversation, consisting of where are you going, where are you from, where have you been, how long are you traveling, etc. Etc. Etc. If you have ever backpacked you know the routine. I swear we should just make name tags with answers to the main questions to save each other time.
At any rate, during the conversation an Australian girl was saying that she was going to go to the USA as a part of her trip, I said great, make sure to visit San Diego, as I always tell people, and proceeded to tell her about some of the many great qualities of California and San Diego, specifically. She smiled and said it sounded great as she didn´t like America in general.
At this, I reacted in the way I always react, and sprang to my country´s defense. I asked her why she did´t like America and didn´t she think it was unfair to make a blanket statement about a place and all of its people when she had not even been there? That it was imposible to make a statement about a group of people, especially when its 300,000,000 people, that would apply to them all? I have heard the same rhetoric so many times that I have a sort of stock response. We went back and forth a bit, with different people adding their opinions and in the end all I succeeded in doing was making her feel bad and defensive.
So, later in the evening, I was talking to a some of our group and going over the fact that I couldn´t believe people thought it was OK to trash talk an entire group of people, that America was by no means perfect, but it was an overall great place to live, etc. Then Chris, my traveling companion, who is a truly kind and gentle person, looked at me and without any malice at all said, well Reece, you have a really strong personality and I can see how you can anger people when you express your opinions.
Now, if anyone else there had said that to me I probably would have just gotten more angry and argued with them, but Chris is such an unassuming guy with his ego very much in check, that it made me realize that it was just an honest critique, and not meant to be a character slam.
So I started thinking a lot about it and a sort of domino effect went off in my mind. I wouldn´t say it was a revelation or anything, perhaps just a moment of clarity when I saw myself as other people probably see me.
It made me realize that in all of my impassioned appeals to her to see things from my point of view, I never even really listened to her beyond trying to find faults in what she said to counter when it was my turn to speak.
That really isn't communication, that is a form of verbal combat. The point isn't to prove someone else wrong, its to listen to their ideas and to hopefully communicate what essentially were noble ideas on my part that came out all wrong.
The problem as I see it was this: when she said she didn´t like America (which, as it is her opinion, she is perfectly entitled to) what I hear is that she does not like the people and places that constitute America, the people and places that I love, and ultimately, that she (or anyone who says these things) does not like me, as I am forever a product of those things.
Now, she may not have meant it that way, but that is what I heard. So, feeling that all of the things I love, my town, my family, friends and myself, have been attacked, I react in kind. The problem is, that if I really want to help someone to see that America is not a country full of stupid, frightened, greedy, warmongers (which sad to say, is how a lot of the world sees us) then verbally attacking them is not the right strategy to use. All I really end up doing is reinforcing the stereotype.
So, it dawned on me that if I want to help people to see all of the things there are to love about us Americans and our home, I need to change up my tactics. I need to listen more first of all, try to understand what they are saying and see if I can, gently and with respect for their opinions, show them that perhaps they should rethink some of their beliefs. You can not control what other people think and you should not want to. I know that there are plenty of things that can be improved back home and I would love to hear them, but blanket negative remarks are not constructive nor very thoughtful. In order to show people this, I need to ask them more questions as opposed to just talking at them. The greatest teachers in history asked more questions and listened more than preached. Demagogues talk without listening, and that is not what I want to be or how I want to represent myself as an American.
So, while I feel that my opposition to blanket negative statements regarding vast groups of people are inherently flawed and lead only to conflict, hitting someone over the head with my ideas isn't the right way to share that. Being kind, patient and attentive to others, and hopefully through well placed questions and personal example I can show people that America is not the land of the idiot.
So that is that, it was one great lesson learned on this trip for me out of many. Also, I apologized to the girl for jumping on her back, and we made up. I just asked her to please think about what she said in regards to groups of people in the future and she agreed that that was a good idea.
As for Santa Marta, this is a killer place. Its on the Caribbean, beautiful with a ton of nice people. Colombians are just very engaging socially. They walk up to you, shake your hand, chit chat with no reservation. And they are also a very passionate people that love to celebrate life.
Parties here are something else, we went out with some locals we met to go dancing and wow. First of all, everyone was smiling and laughing and dancing seductively with one another, having a wonderful time. And let me tell you, the rumors of Latin people being good dancers is so, so, so true. I have never felt inept on the dance floor before in my life. Back home, I would say I am above average when it comes to strutting my stuff. I always feel confident and have a great time. Am I Justin Timberlake? Not even close. But I would say I have better moves than your average guy!
Well here, I felt like an epileptic with two club feet. Everyone here is so amazingly graceful on the dance floor, it was crazy! They all salsa like champions and they have grown up with the steps so they can improvise and change things up as they go which is fantastic to watch. Some girls were trying to show me the steps and while I got the basics fine, as soon as they took me out on the floor and started really going for it, I was just getting in the way! Despite the fact that I looked like a big tall oaf, I had a lot of fun and was continuously blown away by how friendly everyone was.
Oh yeah, and I had to cover this for my buddies back home. All the rumors of beautiful Colombian women are very true. There are some jaw dropingly beautiful girls here.
Lastly, and this is such great news for me, I found a cheap ticket back home to the states so that I can be home for Christmas! It is actually cheaper for me to fly home, and then return to Brazil to meet my best friend for Carnival than it is to fly there form here??? Go figure. But, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, I will be home for Christmas!
All the best to everyone and happy Holidays.
Location: Santa Marta, Colombia
Well, I must say, this trip has been a huge learning experience for me. I look back and see that I set out to try and ride a bicycle around the world because I wanted to do something big and exciting. Something that would make me feel good about myself and that would impress people.
Well, I got sick as a result of riding my bike too much, chose to stop and continue on by backpack. At first I was terribly upset that I would have to fall short of my goal, but with some thought I came to realize that a big part of me wanted to stop because I was no longer enjoying myself as much as I had at the beginning. With time and introspection I came to realize that the reason I felt this way was because I had set out on my journey for the wrong reasons. I wanted to ride a bike around the world not because I love to travel by bicycle so much as because I wanted to do something that would impress other people, which in turn I thought would make me feel better about myself.
It was a tough lesson to learn and it forced me to eat a big slice of humble pie as I had made such a big fuss out of my attempt, but in the end it was a very good lesson. You should only do something because you love to do it. If that is your motivation, then no matter what happens, what anyone else thinks of you, if you succeed or fail, you will be happy with yourself and feel fulfilled.
So, as I have toured around Central America with my backpack, I had a chance to do a lot of things that I would not have been able to do on my bike. I saw a lot of amazing things, met some wonderful new friends, and had a chance to really get to know a portion of the world that I did not know too much about beforehand. I also had a chance to see what volunteering was all about and had a chance to give of myself to those in need. I had a lot of fun in the process and feel that I am now doing everything that I really want to do because it is what I enjoy.
I had another moment like this the other night while I was out with some new friends. A big group of us at the hostel went out to dinner and it was a typical backpacker international crowd, and we were having a very typical backpacker conversation, consisting of where are you going, where are you from, where have you been, how long are you traveling, etc. Etc. Etc. If you have ever backpacked you know the routine. I swear we should just make name tags with answers to the main questions to save each other time.
At any rate, during the conversation an Australian girl was saying that she was going to go to the USA as a part of her trip, I said great, make sure to visit San Diego, as I always tell people, and proceeded to tell her about some of the many great qualities of California and San Diego, specifically. She smiled and said it sounded great as she didn´t like America in general.
At this, I reacted in the way I always react, and sprang to my country´s defense. I asked her why she did´t like America and didn´t she think it was unfair to make a blanket statement about a place and all of its people when she had not even been there? That it was imposible to make a statement about a group of people, especially when its 300,000,000 people, that would apply to them all? I have heard the same rhetoric so many times that I have a sort of stock response. We went back and forth a bit, with different people adding their opinions and in the end all I succeeded in doing was making her feel bad and defensive.
So, later in the evening, I was talking to a some of our group and going over the fact that I couldn´t believe people thought it was OK to trash talk an entire group of people, that America was by no means perfect, but it was an overall great place to live, etc. Then Chris, my traveling companion, who is a truly kind and gentle person, looked at me and without any malice at all said, well Reece, you have a really strong personality and I can see how you can anger people when you express your opinions.
Now, if anyone else there had said that to me I probably would have just gotten more angry and argued with them, but Chris is such an unassuming guy with his ego very much in check, that it made me realize that it was just an honest critique, and not meant to be a character slam.
So I started thinking a lot about it and a sort of domino effect went off in my mind. I wouldn´t say it was a revelation or anything, perhaps just a moment of clarity when I saw myself as other people probably see me.
It made me realize that in all of my impassioned appeals to her to see things from my point of view, I never even really listened to her beyond trying to find faults in what she said to counter when it was my turn to speak.
That really isn't communication, that is a form of verbal combat. The point isn't to prove someone else wrong, its to listen to their ideas and to hopefully communicate what essentially were noble ideas on my part that came out all wrong.
The problem as I see it was this: when she said she didn´t like America (which, as it is her opinion, she is perfectly entitled to) what I hear is that she does not like the people and places that constitute America, the people and places that I love, and ultimately, that she (or anyone who says these things) does not like me, as I am forever a product of those things.
Now, she may not have meant it that way, but that is what I heard. So, feeling that all of the things I love, my town, my family, friends and myself, have been attacked, I react in kind. The problem is, that if I really want to help someone to see that America is not a country full of stupid, frightened, greedy, warmongers (which sad to say, is how a lot of the world sees us) then verbally attacking them is not the right strategy to use. All I really end up doing is reinforcing the stereotype.
So, it dawned on me that if I want to help people to see all of the things there are to love about us Americans and our home, I need to change up my tactics. I need to listen more first of all, try to understand what they are saying and see if I can, gently and with respect for their opinions, show them that perhaps they should rethink some of their beliefs. You can not control what other people think and you should not want to. I know that there are plenty of things that can be improved back home and I would love to hear them, but blanket negative remarks are not constructive nor very thoughtful. In order to show people this, I need to ask them more questions as opposed to just talking at them. The greatest teachers in history asked more questions and listened more than preached. Demagogues talk without listening, and that is not what I want to be or how I want to represent myself as an American.
So, while I feel that my opposition to blanket negative statements regarding vast groups of people are inherently flawed and lead only to conflict, hitting someone over the head with my ideas isn't the right way to share that. Being kind, patient and attentive to others, and hopefully through well placed questions and personal example I can show people that America is not the land of the idiot.
So that is that, it was one great lesson learned on this trip for me out of many. Also, I apologized to the girl for jumping on her back, and we made up. I just asked her to please think about what she said in regards to groups of people in the future and she agreed that that was a good idea.
As for Santa Marta, this is a killer place. Its on the Caribbean, beautiful with a ton of nice people. Colombians are just very engaging socially. They walk up to you, shake your hand, chit chat with no reservation. And they are also a very passionate people that love to celebrate life.
Parties here are something else, we went out with some locals we met to go dancing and wow. First of all, everyone was smiling and laughing and dancing seductively with one another, having a wonderful time. And let me tell you, the rumors of Latin people being good dancers is so, so, so true. I have never felt inept on the dance floor before in my life. Back home, I would say I am above average when it comes to strutting my stuff. I always feel confident and have a great time. Am I Justin Timberlake? Not even close. But I would say I have better moves than your average guy!
Well here, I felt like an epileptic with two club feet. Everyone here is so amazingly graceful on the dance floor, it was crazy! They all salsa like champions and they have grown up with the steps so they can improvise and change things up as they go which is fantastic to watch. Some girls were trying to show me the steps and while I got the basics fine, as soon as they took me out on the floor and started really going for it, I was just getting in the way! Despite the fact that I looked like a big tall oaf, I had a lot of fun and was continuously blown away by how friendly everyone was.
Oh yeah, and I had to cover this for my buddies back home. All the rumors of beautiful Colombian women are very true. There are some jaw dropingly beautiful girls here.
Lastly, and this is such great news for me, I found a cheap ticket back home to the states so that I can be home for Christmas! It is actually cheaper for me to fly home, and then return to Brazil to meet my best friend for Carnival than it is to fly there form here??? Go figure. But, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, I will be home for Christmas!
All the best to everyone and happy Holidays.
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